Comber-casing.



F. L. CROCKETT.

COMBER CASING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 10, 1915.

1 ,272 ,0 1 3 Patented July 9, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

rm: mums PEI'ERS cu, PHDrn-urno.. WASHINGTON, o. c.

F. L. CROCKETT GOMBER CASING.

APPLICATION FILED 05c 10, Wis.

1 ,272,0 1 3, Patented July 9, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FRANK L. CROCKETT, OF NORTH UXIBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THEWHITIN MACHINE WORKS, 013 WHITINSVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORAF TIONOF MASSAGI-I'USL I-"J3Sv COMBER-GASING.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed December 10, 1915. Serial No. 66,049.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. CROGiiE'r'r, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at North Uxbridge, in the county of Worcester and Stateof Massachusetts, have invented the followingdescribed Improvements inComber-Casings.

The improvements concern the inclosure of the comb cylinder andscavenging apparatus of combing machines and the combination thereofwith the parts of the combing mechanismwhereby the machine is adapted toconfine the lint and fly generated by the combing process so as toprevent its collection on exterior parts and journals and thereby avoidthe necessity of frequent stoppages for cleaning. With combers as atpresent and heretofore constructed it is necessary to turn off the powerand remove the accumulations of fly and lint some two or three timeseach day, in order that such waste material may not contaminate thecombed sliver; by the improved means here in disclosed a cotton comber,for example, be kept in a clean and safe running condition for longperiods, and the avoidance of the idle periods results in a materialincrease of productiveness as well as also in a saving of labor. Theprinciple of the invention and the bestmode in which it has thus farbeen embodied are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a cross section through oneof the heads of a well known typeof multiple combing-head cotton comber;

Fig. 2 a perspective of the inclosure or casingitself with parts brokenaway; and

Fig. 3 a sectional detail of packing clamp.

The several parts of the comber shown in Fig. 1 comprise the feed plate1, on which the lap advances to the feed rolls 2; the nipper mechanism 3which receives and holds the forward end of the lap for engagement bythe needles of the comb cylinder; the detaching roll 4 which cooperateswith the detaching segment 5 to detach the tuft; the top comb 7 thepiecing rolls 8 which receive and piece the detached and combed tufts,producing a continuous sliver thereof, and the sliver pan 9 whichreceives said sliver. The piecing rolls 8 may be understood to have analternate forward and backward motion to effect the piecing action,andin the mechanism shown they are free of contact with the detachingsegment 5, which however engages the detaching roll on each revolution.The combing cylinder which comprises the needle half-lap and thedetaching segment 5 is carried on a main or comb shaft 6, which iscommon to all the combing heads of the machine, being journaled betweeneach head, on intermediate frame uprights 10, mounted on a main tablegirder 11, according to usual design. The forward piecing roll as wellas also the lower feed roll are similarly formed on shafts which arecommon to all the combing heads and journaled in these same uprights aswill be understood by those skilled in the art. The bracket arms 12,secured to the rear upper ends ofthe intermediate frame uprights, formthe supports for the springs which press the two feed rolls 2 together,and they also serve to support the casing as presently described. Thenipper knife is operated by the usual nipper rods 13 from the mainnipper shaft 14, also journaled in the intermediate frame uprights. Thesliver pan 9 is carried on brackets 15, clamped to a rod 16 fixed in theseries of frame uprights, and the nipper mechanism and top comb arelikewise carried on the upper margins of the same uprights. The rotarycylindrical brush 1?, rotating in. the direction indicated, cleans thecomb cylinder, as usual, and is itself cleaned by the cardclotheddofling cylinder 18, and the latter is stripped of its accumulated wasteby the oscillating doffer comb 19 carried on the doifer shaft 20. Thedoifer cylinder shaft is likewise journaled in the intermediate uprightsand the doffer comb shaft 20 is journaled in brackets 21 projecting inrear thereof. The various shaft journals of the machine are thus alldisposed upon, or in the planes of, the frame uprights, and the workingparts, that is to say, the comb-cylinder, brush and dofling cylinders,occupy the intermediate spaces, all as common in this class of machine.For further explanation of the said common construction, reference maybe made to Patent No. 822,47 9, but it will be understood that theinvention is not confined to any particular comber construction and maybe employed on single or multiple-head machines with equal results.

The new type of easing or closure is efs fective for the purposes aboveindicated,

principally by virtue of its end wall construction which for-ms a screenor barrier between the rotating comb and scavenger cylinders and thevarious journal seats on the frame uprights, and thereby prevents aircirculation in this region of the machine, such as would tend to depositfly on the machine parts. The front and rear walls also cooperate to thesame end and are specially designed for the purpose, being at the sametime arranged to be readily removable.

Referring to the said casing, its front wall is constituted by a sheet22 of tin or other material, extending imperforate from a point closelyproximate to the forward piecing roll 8, downwardly and rearwardly to apoint adjacent the lower part of the doffer cylinder 18, at which pointit turns abruptly downward to the girder 11,, to which it is attached asindicated in the drawing. The upper part of this front wall is held,removably and adjustably, to the fixed rod 16 by means of a pair ofattachment ears 23 (Fig, 2) bolted to the sliver pan brackets 15, andthe junction with the piecing roll 8 is effected by means of a strip offelt 23 secured to'the upper edge of the wall, By adji' stment of theattachment ears to the pan brackets, this strip can be brought intosubstantial contact with'the piecing roll to close the gap that wouldotherwise exist at this point, according to the principle explained inPatent No. 864,197, A wedge -shaped filler 24. is secured to the real orinner face of the front wall 22 to occupy the space between the combcylinder and the rotary brush, although obviously the wall itself couldbe ben to conform to this space ifpreferred, which casethe filler piecewould not be necessary.

The front wall 22 is equipped with end wall sections 24L permanentlyfixed by soldering or otherwise to its opposite upright edges, and thehorizontal dimensionsof the wall is sufficient, to bring such end wallsinto. the space between the comb. and brush cylinders and the frameuprights and sufficiently close to the latter to accommodate the usualtraverse 0f the rotary brush. These end sections are cut out to fit oraccommodate the comb, shaft 6 and the brush shaft 17, the former bymeans of sen1i-cir cular notches 25, and the latter by means of widernotches 26, so formed and related to the machine centers as to permitthe said front wall to he slipped into the position in-. dicated in thedrawings or removed therefrom without removing any of the operatingcomber parts. The end wall sections 24, thus constitute about half. ofthe closure at the ends of the comb cylinder and, brush. The other halfor part is constituted by the supplementary end sections 27 which are hed in p ace by se ure a achment to the machine frame, similarly to thefront portion as already described. These supple mentary end sections27, as shown in Fig. 2, are cut with semi-circular notches 28,complemcntary to the notches 25, and therewith provide a circularopening for the comb cylinder shaft 6, which fits it fairly snugly. Theyare also cut with notches 29 to accommodate the brush shaft 17, but notso snugly, and the said sections are held in the same planes as the endwalls 24 and so as to form close joints therewith by means of the edgegroove'or crevice formed by the semi-circu lar plate or sheet 30surrounding the notch 25 of the front section, and also by means of asimilar seat formed by the clip members 31 soldered to the said frontsection, just in rear of the brush shaft. The supplementary sections 27are set in these seats and then secured to the bracket arms 32, whichdepend from the spring brackets 12 above described, and byv means ofwhich the said sections become rigidly mounted in place, and with thefront sections constitute the barrier above alluded to. Obviously theclip seats can be formed on either section of. the end wall. and 28 tofit, the comb cylinder shaft with suflicient clQSBHeSs to exclude anyobjectionable inflow of air at this point, but for convenience ofassembly the brush shaft notches require to be large and the interveninggap is bridged and closed by a packing in the form of leather washer3.3. This washer split as shown, so that it can be "slipped over thebrush shaft, (in the present case outside of the casing) and then beclamped to the casing around the brush shaft as shown in Fig. 2. Forthis purpose the clamp ring 3a is also split, being made of It ispossible to size the notches 25 v heavy spring wire as indicated, andsecured I by a screw or bolt 35 to the end wall sectiOn 27 as shown moreclearly in Fig. 3. This style of. split packing is preferred and CO1stitutes part of the invention, but obvious y other means ofestablishing a Substantially complete obstruction to air flow may alsobe resorted to. 7

Each supplemental endwall 27 provided with a marginal shelf rail formedby a narrow strip of metal '36 soldered to its inner face and formingthe support for the removable rear wall or over of the casing. This rearwall is formed of two sections 3.7 and 3.8, Thev former is curvedsubstantially concentric .to the comb cylinder and pro-. vided withbolts 39 whereby it may be locked t bolt-holes in the'end'walle 2 andalso with a handle l0 whereby it may be conveniently lifted and removedwhen unle k d- The ot er se i 3 is supplied with similar bolts 39 andhandle 40, and, when in normal position meets the upper section 37 witha close joint situated within the V-sh ped space between the comb e3 1:-

inder and the brush; The sectional end and rear walls of the casingextend rearwardly over the ends and upperside of the doffer cylinder 18and around the upper part of the shaft of the latter cylinder, and thusthere is formed a substantially perfect inclosure for those parts of thecomber which are between the detaching and piecing mechanism at the topand the dofling cylinder at the bottom. The obstruction to air ingressadjacent the shaft journals by the sectional end walls, is supplementedby the substantial closure of the rest of the casing. The closelyassembled rolls and nipper jaws constitute obstruction to upward flow,and the doffer cylinder constitutes at least a partial obstruction todownward flow, so that while the air within the casing may be agitatedby the rotation of the. cylinder and brush, there is no circulation fromor to it, with the effect that the air about the journals and otherlubricated parts is maintained relatively quiescent and the greatestpart of the flulf and fly is retained in the casing and either restoredto the lap or dis charged in the waste receptacle represented by dottedlines in Fig. 1. The largest openin g from the casing is at the bottombeneath the dofling cylinder so that any outward air flow will bedirected to the waste receptacle rather than upward through thedetaching and piecing rolls, although the deposit of some of the fly onthe lap'is not objectionable if it is clean. v

As shown more plainly in Fig. 1, the upper section 37 of the rear wall,when in place is substantially in contact with the under side of thelower nipper jaw, or at least very close to it. tends beyond the upperedge of the section 37, and also beyond the joint between the end wallsections, where it abuts with a continuing rail or flange 36 secured tothe front end section 24. This extended rail serves as a guard andfurther closure at the upper part of the casings, at the end of the combcylinder and shields the journals of the detaching and piecing rolls andadjacent parts from fly that might emerge at that point. The shelf atother points serves to prevent escape of air and fly at the junctionbetween rear walls and end walls, as will be obvious.

I am of course aware that cotton combers have heretofore been equippedwith the covers or casings for covering the scavenger brush and doft'er,but in no instance of which I am aware has any such cover served toprevent air currents over the lubricated journal parts and therebyeliminate the necessity of frequeent vcleansing and the consequentdelay, and I believe myself to be the first to have discovered that bysuch means as I have above described, the now common idle periods in theoperation of The shelf-rail 36 ex-v is no limitation to any particularform or detail of structure.

I claim:

1. In a comber of the kinddescribed, the combination with the combcylinder, doffer brush and dotting cylinder, of a casing thereforcomprising front and rear walls and sectional end walls, the latterbeing fitted around the comb and brush shafts, and serving to obstructair flow over the ournal portions of such shafts.

2. In a cotton comber, the combination with the comb cylinder, rotarybrush and doffer cylinder, of a casing comprising a fixed front wallhaving end wall sections permanently aifixed thereto and shaped toaccommodate the comb and brush shafts, and supplementary end wallsections engaging said first mentioned end walls from the opposite sidesof said shafts.

3. In a cotton comber, the combination with the comb, brush and doffercylinders, of an inclosure therefor comprising a fixed front wall havingend wall sections permanently affixed thereto and shaped to accommodatethe comb and brush shafts, and complementary end wall sections, rigidlyfixed to the frame of the comber.

4:. In a cotton comber, the combination with the comb cylinder, rotarybrush and doffer cylinder, of a casing inclosing the cylinder and brush,having end wall sec tions provided with seats on the edges thereof,complementary sections seated in said seats, and a removable rear wall.

5. In a comber, the combination with the comb cylinder, doffer brush anddofling cyl inder, of a casing therefor comprising front and rear wallsand end walls, the latter embracing the comb and brush shafts, andclosing in the ends of the comb cylinder and brush, and a packingapplied to said end walls around one of said shafts.

6. In a comber, the combination with the comb cylinder, rotary brush anddoifer cylinder, of a casing inclosing said parts at their sides andends, the end walls being sectional and embracing the brush shaft,

and a split packing clamped to the end walls and around said shaft.

7. In a cotton comber comprising piecing rolls, comb cylinder, rotarybrush and dofler cylinder, the combination of a sectional casing forsaid cylinder and brush provided with means for shutting ofl ingress ofair thereto at the ends and comprising a split packing and a splitpacking ring, overlying the junction between sec tions.

' 8. In a cotton comber, the combination with the piecing rolls, combcylinder, rotary brush and doifer cylinder, of a casing inclosing theends and sides of the comb on said bearings.

9. In a comber, the combination With the comb cylinder, rotary brush anddofier cylinder, of a casing comprising fixed end Walls and a rear Wallformed in tWo sections, provided with independent means for securingthem to the end Walls.

10. In a comber, the combination of a casing for the comb cylinder androtary brush, comprising end sections closing the ends of said cylinderand brush and a removable Wall and means for bolting the latter to thecasing.

11. In a comber, the combination with the piecing rolls, and the comb,brush and doffer cylinders, of a casing or inclosure for said cylindersadapted to confine the lint and fly, and a guard device extendingbeneath the journals of the said piecing rolls.

In testimony whereof I havesigne'd this specification in the vpresenceof two Wit- OSCAR L. OWEN, CHARLES H. EARNSHAW.

Copies of this patent may be obtainefi for five cents each, byaildressing' the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 11,0.

